Dell Studio 15 or Latitude E Series?

Anyone recently compared Dell laptops? I was getting ready to purchase another Studio 15 and the customer support said Latitude E Series is a much better machine for business use (multitasking/graphic arts/publishing etc). Curious what the computer experts of Broadlands say. TIA!

This computer expert says "never trust a sales rep!" Particularly with technical things, the average consumer probably knows a lot more than the average sales rep.

You may have mentioned the word "business" somewhere in talking to this person, so they probably then automatically steered you to their business line of laptops, which is the Latitude. All you really need to do though is compare the important specs like:
Processor speed (how fast the computer brain thinks)
Processor cores (how many brains can think at the same time)
L2-cache (super-fast RAM built right into the processor cores)
RAM (fast memory for holding data while the processor works on it)
FSB (Front-Side Bus, how fast stuff moves around your motherboard)
Hard drive size and speed (I recommend 7200rpm)
Sound and Video cards may be important depending on what you want to do with the laptop.
Number of and type of access ports

"Business" lines of laptops may come with more business features like locks for tying it to a desk, and smart card readers or fingerprint security to lock out unauthorized users. If you don't need that stuff, there's not a whole lot of reason to get it. Focus on the tech specs rather than the product name. If you have the right amount of power to do what you need to do, the specific purpose the laptop was "designed" for won't matter. It's mostly all marketing BS anyway.

If you have specific models, configurations, and price points, I'd be happy to tell you what I think is the best deal, which will also depend on what you want to use the laptop for. Happy shopping!

the biz laptops are generally setup with features for the IT guys in mind... meaning how do I make it easier to own and support this laptop over time.

That means things like
- guaranteed lifecycles (how long till this product is replaced or no longer available)
- common parts (make it easier to spare or replace parts across different products)
- things like docking stations or swapable modules
- excluding features typically aimed at entertainment only (a biz laptop is not going to bother with an audio subwoofer, etc)

If you are only buying a laptop for yourself, be more concerned with if the laptop has the features you want at the price point you want. Ignore the 'home' vs 'business' tags.

The Studio product line looks to be quite modern and offers some nice things like high res displays.

I'd tell you
First decide what type of screen size you want. Bigger sounds better, but has the trade off of bigger laptop (dimensions and weight). If you truely use it mobile, size can be an issue. Goto Best Buy, and look at the 14, 15.6, and 17" laptops and decide which screen size you are comfortable with. Then pick from the models in that size range.

To pick between models... use this criteria
- get an i3 or i5 processor (i5 preferred) at the fastest clock you can afford to add in. i5 will have a pretty good bump over an i3
- get a HD that is 7200rpm... speed is more important than size. Unless you are doing raw video, you'll probably never fill a 320gig drive.. let alone 500 vs 640.
- get 4gigs of ram (this will virtually be standard now)

Then decide the more 'soft' factors
- do you want a dedicated video card? For better gaming and video playback
- how many USB ports (most will have at least 2 + combo port now). 3 should be enough for most ppl
- do you want blu ray?
- what kind of smartcard media reader does it have, does it cover your need?
- how important is battery life to you? (look for 3rd party reviews on a system's true battery performance.. and the wattage of the battery)
- how important is weight to you?
- Do you want a higher quality screen?

Most consumer laptops today have virtually the same resolution screen. The higher the resolution, the more you will be able to 'fit' on the screen. Beware things like a 14" screen and a 17" screen with the same resolution. That means you simply made everything bigger, you didn't get any more information on the screen.

Anyone recently compared Dell laptops? I was getting ready to purchase another Studio 15 and the customer support said Latitude E Series is a much better machine for business use (multitasking/graphic arts/publishing etc). Curious what the computer experts of Broadlands say. TIA!